Battle of Brown's Mill

By Kendall Jackson

Dates

The battle was fought on July 30, 1864 in Coweta County during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War.

The battle ended on July 31, 1864.

Important People

The union calvary leader was brigadier general Edward Moody McCook . He lived from 1833-1909.

The Confederate leader was major general Joseph Wheeler. He lived from 1836-1906.

George Stoneman was with McCook.

General W.T.Sherman was with Wheeler.

Events

The events that happened in the Brown's mill battle are:

On July 27, 1864, when McCook departed his lines to go and raid , along with Stoneman, their mission was to destroy the remaining confederate railroads supplying Atlanta. If their raid turned out successful, Stoneman then planned to continue to Andersonville to liberate the 30,000 union prisoners held there.

McCook and his 2,400 troops crossed the Chatahoochee River and cut the Atlanta and West Point railroad at Palmetto, capturing and burning 1,000 wagons from a confederate supply train. They next traveled to Lovejoy on July 29,but Stoneman failed to appear.

Early on July 30,1864, McCook with his troops and horses, arrived from the east exhausted. They encountered a trainload of some confedetrate soldiers blocking the road on the outskirts of town.

Wheeler's men came in contact with McCook's men three miles south west from newnan.

The battle of Brown's Mill was a major blow to Sherman's plans to use calvary as a means of gaining major objectives in the Atlanta Campaign. McCook lost 100 men and another 1,300 of his men were put in confederate prisons.

Outcome

McCook and his union calvary men loss the war.

Wheeler and his con federate men won the war.

"The battle at Brown's Mill changed the course of the Atlanta Campaign. It forced Sherman to abandon his efforts to use calvary to cut Atlanta's railroad and compelled him to begin a lengthy seige, the very thing Sherman had hoped to avoid."

Significance

"Brown's Mill changed the course of the Atlanta campaign, forcing Sherman to abandon his efforts to use calvary to cut Atlanta's railroads and compelling him to begin a lengthy siege against his new wishes."